


Close Quarters

by planningconquest



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, He also babysits from kids., Kinda sick fic, Luke Skywalker cheats at cards., Luke gets a fever!, Sick Character, a fever!, but not for long, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-24
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-12-19 10:45:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11896116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/planningconquest/pseuds/planningconquest
Summary: Luke and Vader trapped in a subterranean city to wait out a snowstorm.





	Close Quarters

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chrissyglikesbooks](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chrissyglikesbooks/gifts).



Luke Skywalker woke with an unpleasant jolt. His mind crashing back into reality with a noise that should have been audible in the next three sectors. Limbs caught up with his mind a few milliseconds too late. He jerked from his seat so violently he went crashing to the floor. 

“Ow.” He clutched at his ringing and pounding head. “Ow. Ow. Ow.” 

“HA!” He heard an unfamiliar voice shout. “He’s up!” 

“Have a nice nap, lad?” A second voice boomed. “Looked pretty comfortable there!” He forced his eyes opened and looked up. The room was brightly lit, cheerful. Full to bursting with all sorts of people. It looked comfortable and neat and smelled of warm earthy flavors. The scent of cooking food and meat reached Luke and he licked his lips. 

“My head hurts,” he reported as he staggered to his feet and nearly fell back over. 

“You struck aside the head.” A third voice chimed in. He looked at the man. He was enormous, tall as a wookie and almost as broad. There was no face he could see, only elegantly draped gray and white fabric. His black boots were crossed at the ankle and the gray slacks tucked into them strained against heavily muscled thighs. He didn’t look human but he felt human and seemed human. “Do you remember?” 

“No.” Luke touched his forehead and then felt along the bandage wound there. “I just…what happened?”

“You and your pal got in early,” the first voice said. Luke attributed it to the man at the bar who was holding a glass of water out to a patron. All eyes in the room where on him. “Before the snow hit. Good thing too, it’s going to be a long one. Neither of you would have survived if you hadn’t come to shelter.” 

“How did I get hit?” Luke glanced from the aliens around the bar and then back to the mystery man seated like a king on the ottoman. He hadn’t moved since Luke’s ungainly plunge to the ground except to turn an enormous head toward the blond. “Who hit me?”

“A very angry and very thwarted man.” 

“Turns out you beat up the local gang lord!” The bartender said and a few of the patrons lifted their glasses to him. “Blew up his palace and everything. Good job too. He would’ve made winter very tight for us again if not for you.” 

“I blew of a gang lord?” Luke glanced around. Everyone was nodding. 

“Not surprised you don’t remember. You were pretty close to the explosion.” A male twi’lek’s voice got his attention. The person in question was holding a heavy black bag. “Or so your companion tells me.”

“I.” Luke glanced to the stranger. “I’m sorry but thanks for helping me.” 

“We owe our favor to you,” said the doctor, “that gang punk has been sucking this city dry every winter. We’ve stocked up enough to keep the city fed for almost a year since we’re not giving away any for tribute now that he’s dead.” 

“That’s a good thing?” Luke wasn’t sure. He didn’t know where he was or what was going on. He wasn’t even sure he was supposed to be here. The only thing he remembered was an increasing sense of urgency.

“Sure is, you be careful of that head of yours. Keep knocking it around and you’ll get into big trouble.” The doctor warned. “You need to eat and drink something. You’ve been unconscious for me to feel comfortable.” 

“Okay.” Luke patted down his clothes and came up with nothing. “I don’t have any money. Erm, I think.”

“I have taken care of it, youngling.” The stranger in the robes spoke again and Luke finally asked. 

“Do I know you?”

“You do.” 

“Are you sure?”

“Do you remember what planet you’re on?” 

“Erm, no. I don’t.” 

“Then you would not likely remember who I am after such short acquaintance.” That sounded about right. “You have been injured by someone who was trying to kill you. It may take a few days for you to remember the entire incident properly.” 

“Oh.” The stranger didn’t give him a name. Well, if he did Luke didn’t remember it. “What.”

“Do you remember why you were here?” 

“I think I do.” The rebellion was supposed to be here. Looking for a place to have a base. Somewhere to hide from the ever-searching Empire. Somewhere to hide form Vader. He remembered landing and then…nothing. “What?”

“Food,” the doctor ordered firmly. A server in a stained apron approached with a platter. “Eat and then you need to rest. Your friend has rented you a room so you’ll have a place to stay during the storm.” 

“Oh,” Luke looked at the man and really wished he could remember who it was. “Who are you? I’m sorry but I don’t remember.” 

“You may call me Kin.” 

“Kin?” Luke rolled the words around in his head. It didn’t connect with anything. “I...”he accepted the food and glanced around the room. “Do I know the rest of you?” 

“Not really,” the bartender shrugged and went back to mixing drinks. 

“You rolled into town a few days ago,” said one of the twi’leks, “then the next time anyone saw you your pal was dragging you in a whole day after the snow started. You feeling alright?” 

“My head hurts,” Luke said and there were some scattered chuckles. “And I don’t remember the last week at all.” 

“Your memory should come back,” said the doctor. Luke dug into the enormous bowl of soup, suddenly ravenous. “In a few days or so. If it doesn’t I am not too far away.”

“Okay.” Luke said past a mouthful of hot soup and bread. His eyes kept sliding back to Kin. The man didn’t move. His whole body was still, his hands folded neatly in his lap. As Luke continued to stare the man eventually turned around. He didn’t say anything and Luke glanced away. “What is this place?” 

“You are in the town of Aust on the planet Quill.” 

“Quill.” Luke chewed thoughtfully, “I don’t remember it.” 

“The current snowstorm is due to expire in two months.”

“A two-month long storm?” Luke pressed a hand to his head and frowned, “why?”

“It is the nature of the planet.” Kin said. The rebel nodded slowly and set aside his now empty bowl and chewed on the last of the bread. “Come, young one, you need to rest. You have more injuries than simply your head.” 

“Right.” Luke wondered if he was in danger. The Force, as much as he could hear it, said nothing. He didn’t seem to be in danger, he usually had pretty good instincts about these things. He stood slowly and held his head in his hand. “Ow. Ow.”

“Allow me,” Kin stood too, taking hold of Luke in a way that spot of past medical experience. He hadn’t been handled much like that except by his increasingly annoyed medic. “You will strain yourself.” 

“I think I’ll be okay.” Luke slurred into the thick fabric. He inhaled the scent of soap and something homey. “Hey, you smell familiar.” He felt tiredness coming back to his mind. Something nudged at him, something totally foreign and startling enough that he did nothing to block the command. He collapsed against Kin completely and faded into sleep. 

#$#$#$

The second time Luke woke up he was comfortable enough that he did nothing except lounge. He curled himself under the thick blankets around a plush pillow. It was toasty and soft and he didn’t want to wake up. 

“Skywalker.” 

“Go away,” he mumbled into the pillow,

“Skywalker, you’ve been asleep for two days.” 

“I’m still tired.” 

“Skywalker, get up.” 

“No.”

There was a moment of silence before the blankets were yanked off him. Luke yelped as chilly air assaulted his skin and shocked him to proper wakefulness. 

“HEY!” He groped for the blanket. “HEY!” 

“I told you to wake up. You are well enough to face a proper day.”

Luke glowered at the unapologetic Kin. “I was sleeping.” 

“You were wasting your time.” 

“I’m injured.” Luke protested and then remembered what had happened. “You knocked me out!” 

“Yes.” 

“You used the force!” 

“Yes.” Luke stared and then scrambled to his feet and away from the stranger. Who he now recognized. 

“Vader!” The whisper came out strangled and horrified, “you. You, what are you doing here?”

“You do not remember anything else?” 

“No.” Vader stared at him. Luke inched further away, looking for some sort of a weapon. 

“Then you do not recall getting yourself captured by pirates?”

“I got captured by pirates?” 

“You do not recall spending an evening as a ceiling decoration?” 

“No.”

“Or being pelted with rotten fruit?”

“NO!” 

“You were a prisoner, Skywalker. I rescued you.” 

“I don’t remember.” Luke pressed his hands to his head, “if you rescued me then why didn’t you take me to the Empire? Why’d you come here? Why are we still here anyway?”

“The weather kept me from flying us off-world and there is no Imperial presence on the planet for us to go to. This does not mean you will escape or attempt to. Outside is a storm violent and cold enough to kill you if you should try to brave it. Also, we are both under false names. The locals have violent responses to those who would disrupt their lives.”

“That suddenly matters to you?” 

“It does.” Vader seemed almost too still. “I will not harm you, Skywalker. Nor will I allow anyone else to harm you. This storm is the final interference between you and your destiny. Once it is passed you will accept your fate.” Luke did not like how that sounded. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before he finally came up with something say. 

“I am not falling to the dark side and I will not be going with you.”

“You are coming with me, Skywalker, one way or another. The choice is not yours to make.” 

“It is mine to make,” Luke spat, “I’m not leaving this place with you. I am a Jedi. Not a Sith.” 

“Then you are foolish and deluded.”

“And what if I tell the whole damn city that you’re Vader?” 

“Then you invite chaos on both of us. They will attempt to kill me and they might succeed in killing you.”

“I might kill you.” Luke said and Vader shifted from annoyed to amused. 

“You could try.” Vader retorted and Luke blushed at the mocking tone. “You will not. Do so and I will be severely displeased.” 

“I.” 

“We will be spending two months in close quarters.” Vader said and Luke swallowed down a surge of terror. “Do not make this intolerable for either of us.” 

“I am not staying here.”

“You have no money and you are known as my companion. Escape is impossible due to the violence of the weather. You will stay here.” 

“No.” Luke looked around for some clothes, some supplies. Any supplies. Nothing. “I’m not staying.” 

“You are, Skywalker.” Vader produced from the folds of his clothes, his lightsaber, “if you ever wish to get this back.” 

“Give that back.” Luke snapped. “That is mine, you have no right to it.” 

“I do.” Vader seemed to pause. “Enough of this. I will not allow this to continue. When your memory returns you will understand.” 

“Allow what to continue?” 

“Your insolence.” Vader crossed his arms, “you will behave. Now,” Vader turned his back to him and crossed the small room. “Get dressed.”

“With what? I’ve got nothing.” 

“The closet. You will find your rebel uniform as well as other clothing. Do not wear your uniform, it will make you are target.” 

Luke’s glower didn’t lessen and he didn’t move. 

“What are you waiting for, boy?”

“I’m not getting dressed with you in here.” There was an annoyed sigh and Vader left, taking his lightsaber with him. Luke watched him leave and as soon as he did he locked the door behind him. With ruthless efficiency, he searched the room for more supplies and tools. There were only clothes, basic grooming materials, and a few odd-looking devices that Luke didn’t recognize. There was nothing useful. 

He continued to search until the door rattled. “BOY!” He jerked around, terrified a moment. “I will open this door in two minutes and you had better be changed.” The frustrated and annoyed tilt to the man’s voice was enough to galvanize Luke toward the closet. He changed quickly, not sure of what he threw on, just in time for the door to breeze open. 

Vader stepped through. In one hand he carried a thin basket covered over in a checkered cloth and the other a medics bag. Luke pressed against the wall, looking to the door as it slid shut and then to Vader. 

“You will be cleaning this room,” was all the man said, giving the now trashed room a once-over. “Lunch. You have been in a healing trance for two days and are no doubt hungry.” 

“I’m fine,” Luke lied. 

“Very well. I do not object to you exploring the city but you will not do so until you have eaten and cleaned up your tantrum.”

“I did not throw a tantrum.” 

“The evidence suggests otherwise. Come, eat.” Luke didn’t budge. “Skywalker, if had wished you harm then I would have already done so. I would not waste time with petty poisons.” Luke glowered but relented to the logic. Her snatched the basket up and retreated back to the other side. Inside the basket was a small sealed container, some bread, a bottle of water, some utensils, and a small bag of sliced fruit. 

He glanced up to see Vader opening the medics bag and frowned, “you’re not a medic.” 

“I am.” 

“No, you’re not.”

“Child, I have far more medics experience than most and the entirely legal credentials to prove it. I will not have you fighting me every step of the way because of the most basic care. You have proven recklessly foolish in the past but not longer.” 

“I feel fine,” Luke argued even as he opened the sealed container and found some more soup. “I don’t need a medic.”

“So you say.” Luke glowered even as he ate. He figured that as soon as he finished he’d be pounced by the enormous man. He wondered for a way to get out of it. 

“There will be no evading me, Skywalker. You will be checked over if I must hold you to the bed myself.” The absolute truth in the booming voice made Luke inch back on his own bed and hunker down. 

Maybe he wouldn’t fight this one. 

“If we’re both stuck here then…for two whole months?” 

“Longer if the storm does not abate in a timely manner.” 

“Two months is a long time for you to be missing.” 

“Such is the consequence of taking the time to retrieve you from the pirate’s den, Skywalker.” Vader told him. “As it stands this is the situation we are dealing with. We will make the best of it.” 

Luke muttered under his breath as he finished off the last of the food. For a moment, he considered the basket and stuck everything back in it. “What are you going to do for two months? You can’t spend the entire time hovering over me. Unless you plan on locking me in this room until the storm is over?” 

“I am not so foolish or so cruel. You will be free to roam the city as you please provided you do not make a menace for yourself and you return to these rooms at the proper time.” 

“And what’s the proper time? What, are you setting a curfew for me?” 

“Yes, and the time is ten. I do not trust you impetuous, reckless nature beyond that.” 

“I am a rebel, you expect me to just obey orders? What do you think is going to happen?” 

“You will do as I command because the alternative will make life very unpleasant for you. Two months in close quarters is enough of a strain at is it, boy. Do not worsen the situation by being deliberately difficult.” 

“I am not going to make it easy for you. I’m not just going to follow along like some pet on a leash! I’m am a rebel and a Jedi!” 

“You are a young fool. Eat and clean up your mess. This will be your home for the next two weeks, do not wallow in filth. The rebellion may have tolerated it but I will not.” Luke glowered, half in shock and half in confusion. Vader left with a dramatic twirl of his cloak. 

Luke stuck his tongue out. “Fine,” he muttered, agreeing that he didn’t really want to wallow in a mess for two months. Still, there were other ways to make Vader pay for doing this. 

#$#$#4

Aust was a big city. Above ground it was smaller and probably cuter. Beneath ground, though, was were the truly impressive architecture of the city lay. 

Due to violent snowstorms in the winter seasons when the temperature plummeted the below freezing and stayed there. When the winds reached speeds enough to knock a starship from the sky, and the snow fell deep enough that it buried the houses on the planet. During this, the entire population of Quill retreated below ground. 

It gave new meaning to the term ‘undercity’. Unlike the enormous city-planets of the core, Quill was modest and practical. Its people were friendly to a disgusting degree. Aside from suffering from too many pirates they lived very well. 

Vader moved down one of the main corridors, people flowed past him on their way to different destinations. It was nearing the afternoon cycle on the world so plenty of families were out and about. As he moved past a child sitting in the middle of the corridor sucking on his thumb he heard a familiar voice. 

“KIN!” He looked away to see a heavyset twi’lek man come bustling past a crowd of shoppers, “KIN!” 

“Tom, what brings you here?”

“I wanted to see how the young lad was doing? He didn’t seem too well last I saw him.” He and Tom pressed themselves closer to the wall to let people pass by easily. Vader reflected on the man’s easy-going nature. 

“He is well enough that his attitude has returned.” 

“Attitude?”

“Most certainly.” Vader sighed. Tom only smiled. 

“Sons, they can be like that.” 

“So, they can be.”

“Well, if you guys need any help you know where to find me.”

“Of course.” 

“Do you have a map of the city? There’s nearly nightly entertainment and such for everyone until the season ends. We’re hosting a film night at the library tonight.”

“I will consider it,” Vader lied, “until Luke is truly better he is under a curfew. He had proven reckless in the past.” 

“Hmph, younglings can be like that.” Tom considered the whole thing thoughtfully, “I do not have children but I’ve certainly helped my friends raise theirs.” 

“Thank you.” He wondered what Luke would do first to try and establish the fact that he did not consider him an authority figure. It made sense that the boy would be difficult as much as Vader didn’t want him to be. Still, Luke only had to remember the week in the pirate lair. 

Then everything would be fine. 

He opened his mouth to speak further but paused when Luke wandered down the corridor looking confused. Blue eyes darted from side to side; taking in the peculiar city and the people. Finally, his eyes landed on Tom and Vader. 

“What is this place?” He ignored Vader completely. Tom’s grin widened. “It’s amazing! I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it.” 

“Thank you,” Tom beamed, “we like it too. Where are you from?”

“Err, the outer rim.”

“We’re on the outer rim.” Vader pointed out and Luke flushed. 

“Tatooine.” 

“Stars! You must be freezing!” Now that Vader looked he could see that Luke was actually dressed in several layers. They were awkward and mismatched but the boy obviously needed them. 

“I’m fine,” Luke lied. “I’m just not used to the cold.” 

“Hmph,” Vader watched Tom consider the boy. “Well, if you need clothes there are several stores to get some at. Looks like you could use some thermals.” 

“Eh. I’m good for a bit.” Luke would not ask Vader to spend money on him. He would probably be more willing to gargle glass. 

This concerned the Sith immensely.

“Do you know how you’re going to spend the next two months? We’ve got some great things to do here. Aust has a lot of really great singers, we have weekly shows.”

“Err.” Luke looked around and shrugged, “I don’t know. I mean.” 

“Of course, you’re still feeling under the weather.” Tom seemed amused at his own joke. “Well, everyone in Aust knows everyone. Get to know everyone! You’re here for two months!” Tom bid his goodbyes and left. Luke stared up at Vader before skulking off. 

Vader wondered what the boy would be doing. 

Still, it would not do to smother the boy. 

3434343

Luke wondered what Leia would think of the whole situation. As he wandered through the tunnels and hallways of the underground city, Luke tried to think of a positive. 

He was alive. 

He wasn’t injured anymore.

He was, at least he should, going to have access to water and food and medicine. 

Vader didn’t seem to want to hurt him. Which didn’t mean that he wouldn’t try to. 

Besides, the man didn’t even seem to be acting normal. He was behaving oddly. Almost…parental. A curfew? Bringing him food when he woke up from a healing trance? Scolding about a mess like Aunt Beru would? 

“Hey!” He glanced up. “You’re the Luke kid, right?” The speaker was a thin rodian teenager a few years younger than Luke. They were grinning. “You beat up the pirate?” 

“Yeah,” he glanced back to see if Vader had followed, “that’s me.”

“I’m Lonsd. I’m having a game night with some friends of mine at my parents place, do you want to come?”

Luke stared and then wondered if the boy meant someone else. “Erm, you don’t know me.”

“You came in with Kin. You got rid of our pirate problem, all the guys at the bar said you’re a little confused. Besides, you look lost.” Lonsd smiled invitingly. “My moms are making casserole.” 

“Well, if it’s casserole, then sure.” 

“Great.” Lonsd waved him on, “you’re going to love this. I got it through mail order from this game store. It’s a tabletop one, apparently it takes a couple of weeks to play. So we’ll have fun things to do during the whole storm. You’ll like my friends.”

“Sure,” Luke followed the teenage rodian down the hall. He wondered if he could convince the boy to lend him a bed. 

#$#$#$

Ten came and went. Vader, not totally expecting Luke to obey, went off in search of his son. It was easy, amusingly so, to locate where he might be hiding. As it turned out, he hadn’t even been hiding. When two giggling middle-aged rodian women let him into their living room, he understood their humor. 

Luke was surrounded and mobbed by teenagers and pre-teens alike. Some of the were asleep and others were lounging around. A ten-year-old was hanging off his shoulder, chattering in his ear. Luke’s face was furrowed in concentration as he considered the cards in his hands and the four other people around the table. 

“You should use that card.” 

“That’s not how the game works.” 

“You should.” 

“Luke, you going to play or what?” One of the rodian teens demanded and Luke nodded slowly. Vader felt the boy savor the moment before Luke set down a card and then leaned away from the outraged gasps and horrified screeching. 

“MOM!” 

“YES?” Twin voices echoed back and the rodian teen buried his face in his hands.

“LUKE’S CHEATING!” 

“I am not,” Luke turned to protest to the women before his gaze fell on Vader. The excited and humored expression slipped right off his face. Vader shifted as the atmosphere turned from cheerful to uncomfortable. “I won fair and square.” 

“He cheated. I don’t know how but he cheated. No one is that good at cards.” 

“Luke is an adept cheater,” Vader offered, savoring the offended gasp that it pulled from his son. “And very good at not getting caught.” 

“Not that good apparently,” Luke pointed out and the room exploded with shouts. Cards and pillows went flying. A few of them knocking Luke over before he was piled on. Vader forgotten in the rage of justice that consumed the rest of the card-players and the excitement of a fight that took hold of the other children. 

“GET HIM! GET THOSE WINNINGS BACK!” Vader watched as his son was briefly mauled, a few light punches were thrown, and a whole package of cookies were produced by a triumphant teenager. The new bearer of sweets was yanked back into the fray. Luke was shouting indistinctly, laughter bubbling under the words. 

Vader watched the mass of limbs for a sign of Luke, when an arm emerged, he grabbed. With a quick motion he hauled his son out of the fight and over his shoulder. IN the sudden absence of Luke, the rest of the fight collapsed into an even more undignified heap. 

Luke squawked in protest until Vader set him back down. 

“Thanks for the game,” blue eyes, brightened by good company and excitement, focused on the oldest rodian teen. The boy waved at Luke, blushing. 

“You’ll have to come back so we can restart. We sort of made a mess.” 

“You all made a mess,” one of the mothers called, “you’re all going to be cleaning it up!” Luke’s mouth twitched and he pulled from Vader to and untangle some of the younger kids. 

“Come on, guys. Play times over, it’s pretty late. We do need to clean up.” There was muffled protests but the various children began to move, cleaning up as they went. Vader retreated to the kitchen area where the two women were sharing a thin bottle of wine. 

“He’s very good with the children,” the first one said, introducing herself as Tiia. “Do you mind if we borrow him to babysit sometimes. We haven’t had a night together in ages. Lonsd is old enough to sleep alone but his younger siblings keep interrupting.” 

“I do not mind,” Vader agreed easily, “Luke does handle small children with extraordinary patience.” 

“He’ll be a great father someday.” The second one sighed. Vader nearly choked on nothing. “I can just see it now. I don’t think I’ve ever met a human man who can change a diaper so quickly.” 

“Are you not ready for grandfather-hood?” Vader shook his head and the pair laughed. “Then you’d best keep him away from all the girls and boys his age. They’ll smell potential spouse a few star-systems away.” Vader retreated from the kitchen and back into the living room where. The cards had all been put away and the spilled snacks cleaned up. Except now the pillows were being stack strategically around and sheets were being pulled from a chest against the wall. 

“Luke!” He might have been overreacting but the boy did need to be scolded for his direct disobedience. He wasn’t going to do that in public. “We are leaving.”

“What?” His son looked confused from his post as acting as a ladder. “Why?” 

“We have a previous engagement.” Vader ordered him. Luke stared at him disbelieving but he didn’t argue. He pulled the child off his shoulders and set her down. He gave a number of goodbye’s, one too many, before Vader yanked him out of the their houses and back down to the subterranean corridors. “That took far too long.” 

“I like them, I had to say goodbye. That would be polite.” Vader snorted beneath his mask. Luke rolled his eyes. “Besides, what do you care? I thought you didn’t want me in your hair.” 

“You have a curfew,” Vader pointed out as they side-stepped a droid pulling a wagon of linens. 

“Would you believe me if I told you that I lost track of time?”

“I might.” Vader conceded, “what do you have to say, boy?” 

“The game went long.” As if his nerves over the whole situation had been soothed, Luke’s whole demeanor was much more inviting and calm. “And then you saw then all trying to beat me up.” 

“Next time try to not cheat.” 

“I didn’t.” Luke protested. Vader let the silence hang heavily. “Maybe a little. They were really good cookies.” 

“Of course.” Vader sighed to himself. “Do not do it again.” He was graced with a mutinous look the likes of which would have gotten anyone else killed. “I am in all seriousness, Luke. I will not tolerate continual disobedience.” 

“Fine.” Luke didn’t look up at him and Vader braced himself with the very real possibility that he would have to discipline Luke in the near future. “What did you do?” 

“I spent time in the maintenance hangers. A good number of ships in need of dire repair are stored there in the duration of the winter.” 

“Oh.” Luke obviously hadn’t been expecting a real response.

“What did you do? Aside from being mobbed by small children and young teens?”

“That was it.” Luke struggled to remain cordial, returning the favor and courtesy that Vader seemed too easy with. “I, um, we played a card game.” 

“And got mobbed.”

“Yeah.” 

“You handled it well, young one.” He thought momentarily of Luke in the cell he’d found him. The cold fear that had flooded him there still hadn’t abated. He set a hand on Luke’s shoulder, squeezing almost fondly. Luke looked up at him and then away. As if he could sense Vader’s lingering concern. “There is much to discover and find in Aust. I would encourage you to keep looking for other forms of entertainment. You will not be seeing these people again.” 

Luke’s face darkened, “that’s not your choice to make.” 

“It is not a choice that will be made. It will be the circumstance of your destiny.” The boy scoffed. 

“Destiny, there’s no such thing. Everyone makes their choices, not some mystery person in the distant multiverse.” 

“There is and yours is the greatest this galaxy has ever seen.” Luke refused to look up but his blush was obvious in the force. 

“Hmph, destiny is a bunch of nonsense.” Vader had known his step-brother for only a few days but that was long enough for him to recognize the influence he’d had on his son. “People make their own choices. Saying something like destiny is what directs us gives people the chance to be lazy or indecisive or worse, weak in their convictions.”

“That is your uncle speaking.” 

“How do you know about my uncle?” 

“You intend to tell me,” Vader recalled several reports from his agents in the rebellion, “that you do not believe in destiny? In a greater purpose you can be called to?” Luke did not answer. “You know who your father was,” who he had once been, “and what he accomplished.” 

“So? I don’t think he was called to do that. I don’t.” Luke rubbed his head, “my head hurts.” 

“Thinking too hard?” Vader wondered until he felt a spike of real pain flare in the force. Luke staggered into the wall, groaning. “Luke!”

“I’m fine.” Luke shoved his hands away, “I just…I was trying to remember something. I…have we had this conversation before?” 

“We have.” Vader confirmed. 

“When?”

“A few days ago.” Despite Luke’s protests, he set his hands on his shoulders and steered him gently to the access way that would lead them up to their hotel. “It seems we must call the doctor again.” 

“No, no doctor. I’m fine, really. I’m already doing better.” 

“Of course.”

“Besides, it’s too late to get the doctor. He’s probably already in bed.” 

“He may well be but he will come for you.”

“No.” Luke’s grip on his arms tightened, “I’m fine. It’s just a headache.” 

“That is not a good sign.” Vader pointed out, “I will fetch the doctor only after I’ve gotten you to bed.”

“You are fussing like an old grandma.” Luke grumbled, “you need to stop.” 

“I will graciously ignore your complaints of me caring for you.” Vader felt Luke pull away and rub at his head. “Boy?” 

“I’m fine, go away.” Vader did not. He followed Luke all the way back to the room. The various people they ran into gave Luke concerned looks and questioning ones to him. He waved them off.

“Do you always fuss over people you’re going to execute?” Luke finally asked when he’d dropped onto his own bed and then crawled under the covers, fully clothed. He pulled a pillow over his head and turned his back to his father. 

“You are not to be executed by me or anyone else.” Vader scanned Luke with the force. Aside from the usual tiredness of a young man who had spent a busy day, he found nothing. No signs that the boys head was still injured or damaged. He skimmed over the clinging sense of malaise that he attributed to Luke’s nervousness of being around him. “Are you hiding your injury from me?” 

“I can do that?”

“Never mind.” Vader watched Luke a moment further, “remove you boots. You will ruin the sheets.” 

“My feet are cold.” 

“That is not my concern.” He saw the blankets wriggle as Luke reluctantly obeyed. Two boots were shoved from beneath the blankets and they smoothed out again. 

“My toes are going to fall off. Right off. This is how Luke Skywalker dies; his legs are frozen stiff. He suffocates under the blankets he can’t climb out of.” Vader rolled his eyes and left the miserable youth to wallow. 

#$#$

The next weeks passed predictably. Luke spent as little time with Vader as he could manage. If Vader went right then he went left. If Vader spent the evening in the bar trading stories with the other patrons, then Luke skulked off elsewhere. He ate alone or with anyone else. He made it back in time close enough to his curfew that Vader said nothing if Luke slipped into their room a few minutes late. A s much as Luke was trying prevent it, Vader did learn a few things about his son. 

He was easygoing generally. He liked spicy foods. He was so good with kids that a number of couples and families had already roped him into watch their young ones while they were otherwise occupied. He was also unbelievably sarcastic when the mood struck him. Enough so that Vader had actually had hot caf spit on him by an astonished barkeep that had proceeded to laugh himself sick. 

Finally, annoyed with the constant avoidance, Vader seized his son’s jacket and hauled the protesting boy out of the room and toward the hangers. He answered none of the questions directed at him in increasingly frantic tones until he all but tossed the boy into the hanger. 

“Enough,” in the silence of the repair rooms, Luke glanced between him and the door. “Of your avoidance of me. You will assist in the repair of an emergency vehicle.”

“Why?” Luke demanded, leaning away. Vader sighed. 

“I have decreed it so. Now, come. It must be finished before the morning comes.” The boy sulked as he followed Vader across the hanger, “the local rangers may need it.” 

The ship in question was an old one. Pre-clone wars. It was fairly well taken care of for suck an old ship and an unforeseen mudslide had damaged it months ago. Most of the casting and refitting of the engine block was finished already, what remained the electrical soddering and the connection of wires. When Luke was asleep and Vader assured that he wasn’t going to sneak away in the night; he came here. 

To repair something. To feel as if he was making progress as he didn’t seem to be making with his own son. 

Thankfully, Luke seemed excited at the prospect of repairing something. Imperial agents had sent report after report detailing the work his son had done to his x-wing. He knew Luke was capable. 

‘Why are we here anyway? Isn’t it drinking and story night down at Ela?” 

“Every night is drinking and story night at Ela.” Luke glanced at the candid tone as they collected the necessary tools. “You have not worked properly in two weeks. I thought this might serve as a constant project for you while we are confined to Aust.” 

“Constant project?” The boy did a slow turn until he saw each of the ships. His jaw dropped, “do all of these all need fixing?” 

“They do.”

“They’re beautiful.” Luke hurried back over to his side, now carrying an enormous tool box that looked disproportionately large in his hands. “Is this what you do during the day?” 

“Often, yes. How have you been occupying your time?” 

“As if you don’t already know. Don’t think I’m too dumb to figure out that this place gossips worse than my wingmates.” 

“I would not insult your intelligence,” Vader looked down at his son. The martyrs attitude he wore was just a little annoying. Not enough for Vader yet but soon. Soon. “I am making polite conversation. Convention dictates your return the favor.” Luke glowered, the petulant tilt to his lips almost pressing Vader’s temper too far. “What have you been doing?” 

“Nothing.” 

“Nothing?”

“Yeah.” He plopped the toolbox beside the speeder and began to work, digging through its intestines with more force than necessary. “Nothing.” 

A breathless anger, familiar and frightening engulfed him. It wasn’t the cold bitterness of his Sith postion. Rather, it was the familiar burn of parental anger he hadn’t felt since he’d trained Ahsoka.

“Indeed.” Luke didn’t look at him as Vader knelt on one knee beside him. “I recall fishing out of a fight your first night.” 

“Hmph.” 

“And you’ve been spending some time with the local children.”

“I’m not a child.” Luke glowered at the insides of the ship. “Besides, it doesn’t matter.”

“Aside from cheating school children out of their snacks you have done nothing productive in a week?” 

“If I had it wouldn’t interest you.” Insolence dripped from every syllable. Vader considered his options before asking, deceptively patiently. 

“Have you ever studied the old Mandalorian laws of war?”

“No?” He observed sharp blue eyes for a moment, “why?” 

“They are the rules that the Old Republic, your commanders and council, used. At least, they pretended to.” 

“So?” To ensure his son was listening, Vader seized his chin carefully but firmly. He forced his head up, not enough to make him uncomfortable but enough to show the strength behind his hand. Luke’s eyes widened. 

“There is a section that you may find particularly interesting, boy.” The pointed words caught the blonds attention. He held still, drawn between yanking himself away and running for it or yanking himself away and arguing with him. “It regards the dealing of enemy officers with each other. As you have not read it, allow me to paraphrase. In the event of officers interacting in an area not the war; that they should both engage each other civilly. Now, I do not believe your guardians deliberately raised you to be both disrespectful and insolent. Thus, I am drawn to the conclusion that you are lacking any significant authority that urges you to…behave. As a self-proclaimed Jedi should and as an officer should. Should you continue with this disgraceful attitude I will accept that you need the appropriate authority and step in.” He tightened his grip by a fraction, do I make myself clear?” The petulant looked deepened but Luke nodded as much as he was able. “Very well. You may continue on this side of the engine. I will commence work on the other side.” 

His son nodded but didn’t answer. Apparently shaken by the scolding. Vader let him be, a little satisfied with how well that had worked. 

Half an hour into the repairs, Luke finally spoke. “What did you mean about the Mando’ rules of war?”

“They were written down by one of the best ruler that Mandalore had ever seen. Before the Sith and Jedi wars, before the arrest formation of the Republic. A warlord, King, Emperor, they had many names. Many titles. Though, history tells us that their favorite might have been Hhelos.” 

“So?” 

“So, Hhelos wrote down the most wildly accepted rules of war during their conquest of Mandalore and the neighboring systems. Those rules were used across the galaxy. They dictated the necessary behavior on and off the battlefield. Though, during the clone war the use of these rules fell off.” 

“Why? What were they anyway?

 

“They were too inconvenient is the most likely reason. They had been ignored and disobeyed for centuries before the clone war even began.” Vader sighed to himself. “They called for a certain standards of fighting, outlines and laws to keep both sides honest. A way to treat prisoners. A way to trade between both armies if needed.” 

“Huh.” 

“There are very few complete copies of the rules still around.” 

“Oh.” Luke paused, “do you know where some are?”

“I have my own copy.” 

“Of course you do.” Luke muttered, “and its not like the Empire obeys these rules either. You can’t be critical of me when I’ve never heard of them and you don’t even use them.”

“Perhaps, though, I would have assumed common sense and a sense of self-preservation would have prevailed. Disrespecting a fellow military officer is still frowned on.” 

“Huh uh.” Luke didn’t sound like he believed him. 

“Proper military officers.” He wouldn’t pretend that politics hadn’t reduced the competency of his officers and his soldiers. “Very rare even in the last few hundred years but I would have expected your council to load their pet up with as much knowledge as possible.” 

“I’m not anyone’s pet.” Luke snapped, “and if you want to complain about manners then you should try to not be such a raging hypocrite.”

“My apologies.” Silence descended. He might have taken it too far but thinking about his son being the willing lapdog to the rebellion was enough to make him rage. “You will find the Aust library to be an impressive one.” He stared at the combustor in front of him. “With little else to do much of the population takes up reading.” 

“Library?” 

“Yes. You may find it more conducive than sitting around doing nothing.” 

There was a breathy sigh but he felt Luke agree. 

#$#$3

The librarian was a lovely little woman who took great pleasure in her various books and novels and other library activities. She took just as much pleasure in crashing into the bar, picking out any willing partner (or two) and dragging them home. 

When she crashed into the bar, the keeper long since ignoring her loud entrances, Vader hauled her by her wrist until she was splayed, somewhat seductively over his lap. 

“Well? I’m not complaining but I didn’t think you’d be the type.” She winked up at him and Vader felt annoyed. 

“I need to speak with you.” 

“Just speak?” 

“Yes.” 

“Damn.” She sat up properly, still on his knees, and leaned against him, “what do you need?” 

“Luke recently entered the library. What did he check out?” 

“A lot of the technical manuals and a few on politics and one of the collections of stories from the outer-rim. Why aren’t you asking this yourself? Don’t tell me that you’re not on speaking terms?” 

“His lost memory is putting our relationship on rocks.” Vader admitted, “he does not recall our…bonding.” 

“Unfortunate but he’s watching the Mida twins. So he’ll be busy the rest of tonight. He’ll have fun with them.” 

“He might.” Vader admitted. He glanced down at the woman. “I believe that Etta is free this evening.”

“You’re right.” She winked at him and vaulted off him to search for her evening’s partner.

Who knew, perhaps his son would enjoy the evening. Watching children was something he seemed to enjoy.

This was not the case. Luke staggered into their room just a few minutes before ten. His eyes were drooping and he covered in marker, ink, glue, and various food groups. He set a basket of untouched book files on Vader’s bed and flopped over it. 

“That is my bed.” 

 

“Mmph,” he seemed too tired to even move. Vader wasn’t sure he’d smother himself with the thick bedspread. But Luke shifted enough to talk. “Those kids were terrible.”

“They seemed to have enjoyed you.” Vader pointed out. Luke groaned to himself and struggled to sit up.

“They were both sick.” Luke said, “they didn’t want to keep laying down. They wanted to run all over the place and then they wanted to eat and eat. They both ended up throwing up. I’m covered in vomit and tears and a lot of food.” Vader had never been so happy that he could hardly smell any longer. “I’m going to take a quick shower.” 

“Take a bath, use water.” 

“That is a waste of water.” 

“You will feel better after a water bath than if a simple sonic shower.” 

“Maybe,” Luke dramatically staggered to his feet and then to the bathroom. After a while of running water there was silence. Vader left the miserable rebel alone to peruse the basket of library materials. Most of the technical journals matched the various ships in the hanger that needed to be repaired. He admired them before turning to the other books. Most of them he knew, all of them at least a little reliable. It was the book of tales that caught his attention. 

He was halfway through the first chapter when Luke had finally emerged from the refresher. His hair was damp, his face was flushed enough that Vader felt concern spike through him. He was also only wrapped in a towel. Vader looked away as he heard Luke dress and sluggishly crawl under the blankets. 

“Don’t wake me up for another week.” 

“Indeed.” Vader, deeply enjoying the book, proceeded to leave the self-pitying rebel to his suffering. He left to find a quiet corner that he could read in. His son turned over beneath the blankets and Vader shut the door. 

When he returned, later the next day he found Luke still in bed. He set the now-finished book down and then the food he’d brought and moved over to Luke’s bed. 

Luke was flushed, his brow sweaty enough that his hair was clinging to his forehead. His eyes were too bright as he opened them and peered up at Vader. 

“Go away.” He ordered weakly. Vader set a hand on his forehead. It was a useless gesture; his hand was covered in too many layers of fabric and did not have the ability to sense temperature.

“I will call for the doctor.”

“I’m still an amnesiac,” Luke complained at him, his voice watery. “And now I’m getting sick. This is the worst mission I’ve ever been on?” 

“Including the one where you were nearly adopted by the Queen of the Hapes system.” There was blush under the feverish blush as Vader typed out a message for the doctor. 

“She was weird.” 

“She was obsessed and would still attempt to adopt you given half the opportunity.” 

“Hapes doesn’t even like men.” Luke muttered, “I don’t get it.” 

“She would have married you off to any eligible woman that would help her keep her throne.” 

“Ew.” 

“Indeed.” He’d nearly killed the Queen of Hapes for her abduction of Luke. He hadn’t but it had been a near thing. It was frustrating. Luke attracted the attention and interest of nearly every powerful person he’d met. They liked him and they were often powerful enough to try and keep him. 

“It was a weird week.” Luke’s eyes fluttered shut, “no one was nice. They were all suspicious and weird and…all the girls hated me. I didn’t even do anything.” 

“You didn’t?” He sat on the edge of the bed. Luke, apparently too tired and too ill, didn’t even shift. “At all.” 

“I was nice and then…Prince Isolder liked me.” 

“Did he?” 

“Yeah but he had plans too. Still, he danced really well.” Luke shifted under the blankets and Vader patted the lump of rebel. “He kissed great too.” 

“I see.” Vader intoned heavily. Luke only chuckled at him. It was breathless, wheezy. 

“Yep.” Vader made a mental note to strangle Prince Isolder as soon as he got the chance. His attention was diverted back to Luke. He was trying to sit up. “I’m thirsty.” 

“Lay down.” He pushed his son back onto the bed. “I will get you water.” 

“I don’t want you to.”

“You have little choice in the matter.” As he got Luke a clean cup of water he also got the boy a cool cloth. Luke grumbled enough at the application of the cloth that one would think the boy was being slowly roasted alive. His son, with enough presence of mind and pride, managed to haul himself vertical just long enough to drain the glass. When he was done he sequestered himself under the blankets again, grumbling.

Vader wasn’t sure what to do. Whenever he’d gotten sick he was always dumped in the temples med bay to be fussed over by an ever annoyed Bant. Ahsoka had always pretended she wasn’t stick until she needed to be dumped in the temple med bay. Of course, Obi Wan was a subject he didn’t want to discuss. 

Luke had fallen asleep by the time the doctor finally made it to him. 

“Sudden onset. Looked bad last night, work up looking worse?” He gave Luke the barest glance before turning fully to Vader. 

“Yes?” 

“Che, he’ll be down for about a week. It’s a nasty bug but it doesn’t last long.” He assessed the sleeping rebel. “He’ll needs fluids and rest and make sure he eats. He’s not going to want to or have the energy but he’ll need it. Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do. There’s not an antibiotic for it.” 

“I see.” Vader crossed his arms and glowered. The doctor shrugged and then sighed. “Thank you, doctor.” 

“His fever should remain steady for the next few days and not rise or fall. It’ll break in about three days. If it spikes, call me.” 

“Thank you, doctor.” The tutting alien saw himself out and Vader returned to Luke’s side. Well, the boy had something to drink. No food yet. That would be a problem. He could make something. Vader look around their small suite and found not a single bit of food. Luke had been eating out and Vader had been buying him breakfast. 

“Hmm.” He cast a glance at his comatose son and left as well. 

#$#$3

Luke felt that he’d gotten on the wrong side of Death when he woke up. His entire body ached. He felt hot and cold and sticky. He peeled back gunky eyelids and shuffled into a sitting position

“Good evening.” 

“Hi?” He croaked. Vader was standing at the kitchenette. His back was to him as he seemed to be cooking. There were bags of food scattered over the room. A few dishes piled in the sink. Luke could smell something cooking. “Where’s the doctor?” 

“He came and went. You will be ill for another week. Your fever will remain for another few days.” 

“Great.” Luke lay back down, his heart thudding in his chest from such a simple exertion. “What are you doing?”

“You need to eat.” 

“So, you made food?” It actually smelled familiar. Like…the soup his uncle and aunt would make whenever anyone got sick. Uncle Owen liked his more savory and Aunt Beru liked hers spicy. Luke wriggled around a bit. “How’d you get that recipe?” 

There was a suspicious silence, “from my mother.” 

Luke coughed and then continued to cough. His surprise nearly making him swallow spit into his lungs. “What?” When he finally regained his breath and his life, he stared in shock at the man in front of the stove. 

“I was not spawned fully formed from darkness, Skywalker. I…had a family once.” Luke’s feverish eyes burned into his back. “I had a mother.” 

“I…what…had?” Luke stared up at the ceiling, his shock still swirling around in his stomach. 

“She perished just before the beginning of the clone war.” 

“Oh.” He struggled to remain calm but he knew for an absolute fact that the soup was a signature family recipe. It wasn’t for anyone except the Skywalker’s and the Larses. It was his grandmother’s recipe. Recreated by non-Tatooine ingredients but the same soup. It had too distinct a smell to be anything else. “What was she like.” 

“Too curious for your own good, Skywalker.” 

“I didn’t even think you had a mother.” 

“Everyone comes from somewhere, Skywalker.” Luke knew he should probably sit up or at least try to stand. It didn’t seem right of appropriate to be so lazy while the more terrifying man in the galaxy made him soup. 

“What was she like though?” He felt kind of delirious and stupid but he wanted to know. “Was she...nice? I never got to meet my mother. I always hoped she was nice. I always wanted a mother and father but my aunt and uncle.” He felt choked up. “They were great too.” 

“Were they?” 

“Yeah,” he closed his eyes again. “Was she nice? Your mother?” 

“She was.” 

“My aunt told me that my grandmother was the nicest person she ever knew. The best person. She didn’t know anything about my mother.” 

“You know nothing of your mother?” Vader stopped in his stirring. 

“No. Like my father. I always hoped…” he had to be delirious with fever to be talking like this but Luke couldn’t seem to stop. Vader was probably going to kill him at one point or another. “When I was little I used to imagine what she was like. She was always nice with the best smile. With blond hair, like mind. Well, Aunt Beru told me that I always looked like my father.” 

“She did have a nice smile.” Vader said quietly, he’d stopped stirring the soup. 

Luke didn’t seem to notice. “When I got older she always ended up looking like Aunt Beru.” 

“Your aunt was a fair woman.” 

“I don’t think she would have like me anyway.” Luke mumbled, he’d proceeded to bury his head in his pillows. His voice muffled enough that Vader strained to hear it. “I don’t think I was a very good son.” 

“Weren’t you?” 

“No.” He quieted and spent a while morosely looking at the window curtain. Vader recovered from the conversation enough to finish the soup. 

“Skywalker,” he waited for Luke to affirm that he’d heard before continuing. “It is finished, sit up.” 

“I’m not hungry.” 

“You need to eat, Skywalker.” 

“I don’t want to.” The last tuft of blond hair disappeared beneath the blankets. Vader huffed in annoyance even as he admired Luke’s gumption. 

“Skywalker, this is not a negotiation.” 

“I’m fine. You can go eat the flesh of newborn animals or sacrifice virgins to the dark. Or whatever you do in your freetime. 

“Flesh of newborns does not come out of this cloak and it mucks up engine parts.” There was a wheezing chortle that could not have been voluntary. “Now sit up, you need to eat.” 

“Go away.”

“Skywalker, my patience is not infinite. Sit up or I will make you.” Taking the threat at face value; Luke finally did as ordered; he leaned back against the headboard and grumbled. He looked at the proffered bowl of soup with annoyance and a sickly expression. “If you do not eat this willingly I will feed it to you.” Luke glowered but snatched the bowl from the Sith. If his hands shook Vader graciously ignored the fact. 

“You are annoying.” Luke muttered, “nagging nanny, that’s what you are.”

“Eat, Skywalker.” Vader said, ignoring the funny twinge in his chest. 

“What was she like?” 

“Who?” 

“Your mother.” He whirled around. Luke swallowed hard but didn’t recinde his question. “What was she like?” 

“What does it matter, Skywalker?” 

“Because, I’m trying to figure out how you…became you?”

It was his sons right to know his grandmother. 

“My mother,” he couldn’t face the curious gaze, “was everything that I am not. This recipe was hers. I carried it for many years but have only made it twice.” 

He heard Luke sigh. “I thought my aunts recipe was…special. She told me it belonged only to my family. I guess she’d be willing to tell a few lies to make me comfortable.”

“Your aunt did not lie to you, young Skywalker.” 

“Yes, she did. Uncle Owen too. They told me my father was a navigator on a spice freighter. I didn’t even know he was a Jedi until Old Ben told me.” 

“An unfortunate lie to protect you.” 

“Yeah, from you. Not that that’s done any good.” 

“Skywalker.” 

“I get that I blew up the Death Star but why are you so obsessive? Why the hunt and the chase and the bounty?” 

“You blew up the Death Star.” Vader pointed out and Luke set aside the now empty bowl. 

“So?” 

“It would make sense that I would hunt you.”

“But is that all?” He was silent. “Hmph.” Luke wriggled his way back under the blankets and gaped when Vader moved to pull the blankets back over his shoulder. For all the galaxy looking like he was tucking the rebel in. “Are you sure you’re not the sick one? You’re sure acting weird.” 

“Go to sleep, Skywalker.” Vader ordered and Luke snorted at him, amused. 

#$#$#  
His fever took a toll. Luke’s energy flagged until it was sapped completely. He barely had the energy to drink or eat. Vader having to replace the glass with a water bottle that required no energy to open. He barely moved from beneath the covers but succeeded in sweating through his sheets a few times. After the awkward conversation, they pretended it hadn’t happened. Luke didn’t have the energy to speak anyway. 

His hands had been shaking most of the morning on the third day. Luke, almost delirious, hardly noticed that Vader had to help him sit up. 

“What’re you doing?” He was resting against an enormous pile of pillows, shivering and sweating. He stared at Vader through half-lidded eyes. 

“You need to eat.” 

“I can eat by myself.” He slurred, raising a shaking hand to grab at Vader’s arm. 

“You are trembling, Skywalker.” Vader pointed out. His sons hand slid off him and landed back on his lap. “You do not have the strength to hold a spoon.” 

“I’m fine, really.” Luke’s eyes slid shut, trying to go back to sleep. 

“You will eat if you wish to recover.” He held up the spoon and held before Luke. The blond considered it for a moment before accepting the bite. Were it not for the feverish delirium he knew that Luke would not have accepted the attention at all. Thankfully, Luke did not have the energy or presence of mind to be his usual disobedient self. 

This was a welcome relief. 

He felt he could have been a little more concerned with Luke’s illness. Except he relished the care he got to lavish on his son. It was a welcome change. He got to care about someone for once with the simple selfish motivation for wanting them to feel better. No alternative motives, not schemes. Simply a father caring for his son. 

 

“Meh, I think killing me would be easier at this point.” Luke rasped as he closed his eyes, apparently done. “Surprised you’re not jumping on the chance.”

“Have I once indicated to you since our arrival on Aust that I desired your death?”

“Well, when I came back late that one night.” 

“It was midnight. You were due back two hours before. You are fortunate I did not turn you over my knees right then.”

Beneath the fever there was a definite flush to Luke’s face. He eyed the Sith. “You wouldn’t dare.” 

“Wouldn’t I?” 

“Hmph. Why are you acting like this? So…parental and…weird.” 

“You need only to remember the events of the pirates lair.” Vader promised. 

“I don’t know how.” Luke’s distressed rose as he contemplated the past. “I think I’ve been keeping myself from remembering on purpose. I think…I’m too afraid to know.”

“There is little to fear,” Vader promised. He set aside the food. “Luke, do you still believe I would harm you?” 

“Yes.” The bright blue eyes were filled with tears, whether from confusion, fear, or the fever Vader didn’t know. 

“If you allow me I could guide you into a healing trance. One to help you retrieve your memories.” 

“I don’t….I don’t want to know.” 

“Skywalker, you cannot got the rest of your life without knowing the truth.” 

“I…”Luke considered him carefully, “just…don’t.” 

“I will only do this as necessary.” Vader promised. His raised his hands to Luke’s head. The boy flinched and he paused. Carefully, he threaded his hand through the blond fringe. “You will need to relax for this, Skywalker.” 

“I’m not…” Luke’s feverish gaze brightened. “I can’t.” 

“Calm your mind, little one.” Afraid he might scare Luke more but knowing he had to get Luke calm enough to help with the healing trance and willingly find his lost memories; he continued to massage his scalp. 

Luke, frightened and deeply unsure but infinitely more willing than he had been a few weeks ago, began to calm. It was a combination of his exhausting fever, the food, and the gentle hand massaging away his ever increasing headache. His breathing slowed and he drifted closer and closer back to sleep. Something dark touched on his mind, hesitant. Somehow, he wasn’t afraid. It felt familiar, like an old friend returning from a long trip. He reached back and sank into the presence. 

{Sleep. Let me guide you.} 

[Okay] Luke agreed stupidly as his mind was guided through into an unknown corner of his brain. He knew nothing else. 

#$#$3

Long after Luke had gone to sleep, Vader continued to pace. He was unable to contain his fear or his concerns. The boy had been trying deliberately to keep himself from remembering. To keep himself from knowing the truth. 

Too afraid to know it. 

Too afraid to face it. 

Not that Vader blamed him. He dabbed at his son’s sweaty forehead with a cold cloth. Luke was shifting, turning and tossing, his whole face screwed up. 

He knew that Luke was remembering the unpleasantness of the pirate base. Of what had happened before Vader had arrived. 

“You are safe now, son. You are safe. None shall harm you while I guard you.” He settled a hand on his head. “You are safe.” 

“No.” Luke muttered, his eyes didn’t open. “No!” He turned over, nearly into Vader’s side. “NO!” 

“Shh. I am here, son.” If only he could ease the nightmare. If only he could ease the memory. 

Luke eventually quieted, his breathing still ragged but his cries were silent. Vader kept diligent watch, not leaving his side as he waited. 

It was well into the night before Luke’s pale blue eyes opened. With a single glance, Vader knew Luke remembered. 

“Father,” he croaked, a still-shaking hand reached for him. Vader took it carefully. Luke stared for just a moment before closing his eyes again. “Father.” 

“I am here, my son.” 

“You….are my father. I remember…what happened.” 

“Then you remember your promise?” 

“Yes.” Luke began to nod off again, his grip on his father’s hand not lessening until he woke up again eight hours later when his fever finally broke and he was coherent to regain his sense of embarrassment.

**Author's Note:**

> Eh. Whatever. It is what it is.


End file.
